Marines


News
Base Logo
Official U.S. Marine Corps Website
Crossroads of the Marine Corps

Marines use military skills to obtain civilian credentials

26 Nov 2014 | Eve A. Baker Marine Corps Base Quantico

Last month the Department of the Navy released the Marine Corps Credentialing Opportunity Online. The Marine Corps COOL website provides a listing of civilian licenses, certifications and job opportunities that are related to each of the enlisted military occupational specialties. Melora McVicker, education services officer at the Voluntary Education Center aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, said that the program can benefit both active duty and reserve Marines.

 

Marines are often concerned about how their military job can benefit them in the civilian community, and this new tool can allay some of the doubt by detailing various certifications and jobs that are in fact closely related. According to Heather Hagan, the public affairs officer for Marine and Family Programs Division, “the United Service Military Apprenticeship Program provides a tool to document skills acquired while on active duty in the Marine Corps that lead to civilian recognitions and journeyman status in a trade or skill.” The use of both USMAP and Marine Corps COOL together can help Marines identify a list of skills they possess and jobs they might not have known they were qualified for.  

 

According to the Marine Corps COOL website, Marines can qualify for a civilian credential or license through their years of on-the-job experience and by taking an exam; in many cases, no additional education is needed. “Credentials are a particularly important consideration for Marines transitioning from active service because they are recognized and valued indicators that our Marines have the knowledge and skills civilian employers need,” said Col. Lee Ackiss, the deputy branch head for Personal and Professional Development Branch, Marine and Family Programs Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. Having job-related credentials on their resume will make Marines more attractive to potential employers.

 

Currently the program only provides information for enlisted MOSs. “However,” Ackiss said, “officer MOSs and linkages to credentialing and translatable skills opportunities will indeed be added, with a separate identified search portal entry, in the next forthcoming developmental phase of Marine Corps COOL. That process is already in progress and we look forward to that expansion in support of all Marines across the Total Force.”

 

Marines interested in using Marine Corps COOL can access it at https://www.cool.navy.mil/usmc.  

 

ebaker@quanticosentryonline.com


Marine Corps Base Quantico